Life is full of Illusion and Doubt for The Dead South

For The Dead South, the last few months have been a roller-coaster of emotions.

On the positive side, the Regina bluegrass band has been preparing for the release of Illusion & Doubt, it’s latest album. The followup to 2014’s Good Company, Illusion & Doubt will be released on Nov. 18 with the band kicking off an 18-date western Canadian tour on Nov. 23 in support of the album.

On the negative side, The Dead South is dealing with the resignation of Colton Crawford who announced on Oct. 25 that he was stepping away from the band to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle.

While the rest of the quartet — Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle and Danny Kenyon — is working to keep the band on track, its biggest concern is the well-being of Crawford.

“He’s in the process of getting better, he’s doing all he can to get better . . . and that’s what we want for Colton as well,” said Hilts. “He would like to do the Regina shows on Dec. 15 and 16 and he might hop in on the Saskatoon show but for the rest of the tour we’ll have Eliza Doyle, who used to play in the band The Midnight Roses. She’s a great banjo player who will be a great addition for this tour.”

The tour, which will run through B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, will give The Dead South the opportunity to present its new music in a live setting. Described as “a refreshing take on bluegrass and folk, while also incorporating elements of rock, punk and classical music,” Illusion & Doubt was recorded at Regina’s Studio One Recording with Jason Plumb as the producer.

Hilts, who handles the lead vocal duties, admitted working with Plumb was a different experience for the band.

“This process that we did with Jason was entirely new to us. We wrote the songs just before we went into the studio so we were learning the songs as we were recording them,” said Hilts. “You could tell which songs we’d done a million times because they were done quickly. And then all the newer ones took a little more time because we were trying to figure them out and perfect them.

“The help of Jason’s producing was a fantastic thing to do — he showed us where things could be better or different, options that we never thought of before.”

One goal that has remained constant, however, is attempting to replicate the band’s live sound in the recordings.

“We’re well aware that our live performances are much better than any recordings we’ve done before, not because of the recording process but when we play live, we like to come and bring an energy and perform for people,” said Hilts. “When you’re in the studio, it can be hard to capture that. You’re just staring into a blank room with nobody else around except the guys you’re playing with.”

Hilts is anxious to hear what the fans have to say about the new album and the evolution of the band. Since The Ocean Went Mad and We Were To Blame, an EP released in June 2013, The Dead South has worked on its sound and Hilts feels the evolution has continued with Illusion & Doubt.

“The evolution is maturity with content, maturity with songwriting, maturity with experimentation,” explained Hilts. “For example, on this album we got Ed Minevich to play fiddle on one song, which is something we’ve never done before, and we got Ian Cameron to come in a play pedal steel on a couple of songs . . . When it comes to writing lyrics and stuff, just thinking of different topics to write about was important, to mix it up, write in metaphors, anything like that. There’s definitely been an evolution with song structures. It’s OK to have a simple song here and there but it’s also good to complicate things and challenge yourself.

“I’m really curious if people are going to enjoy it or not. We did some different stuff, like different instrumentation, and I hope people enjoy what they hear. As you go on, you have to evolve or it’s just the same old, same old and we really don’t want that.”

Once the tour is completed in mid-December, the band will focus on finding a more permanent replacement for Crawford, as well as preparing for a European tour which was postponed due to Crawford’s medical issues.

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